Daniel O'Callaghan Danny O. Was Always Ready to
Go November 6, 2001 As a child, Lt. Daniel O'Callaghan was afraid
of heights. "He never even wanted to go on the roof to get a ball,"
said his brother, Michael O'Callaghan. But, as a firefighter on
Ladder Truck 4 in Manhattan, something changed in O'Callaghan.
"His main thing on the job was trying to save people, and he didn't
think twice about the heights," his brother said. Though he came
from a family chock-full of police officers - including six active
officers and eight retired from forces in New York City and on
Long Island - O'Callaghan, 42, switched to the fire department
18 years ago, after three years as a cop. He was "born to be a
fireman," said his friend and fellow firefighter, Paul Pfeifer.
His brother firefighters marveled at the constant energy displayed
by "Danny O.," as he was known. "He was a ball of fire," said
Pfeifer. In the engine house, he recalled, O'Callaghan "would
have his pants and boots on already, like he was waiting for the
next fire." And, Pfeifer said, at a fire scene, "You would turn
around to see where he was, and he was already ahead of you."
O'Callaghan was also the one to provide comic relief when it was
most needed. Pfeifer chuckled as he recounted one instance involving
O'Callaghan and his glow-in- the-dark boxer shorts. "We'd had
a fire early in the evening that really beat the hell out of us,"
Pfeifer said. Most of the men were resting in the darkened bunk
room, but not O'Callaghan, who never slept on the job. "All of
a sudden, he ran into the bunk room, and all you could see was
the boxer shorts, jumping from bed to bed, and all you could hear
was him laughing, and then he went out the door," Pfeifer said.
"Everyone sat there, and was like, 'What was that?' I just said,
'That was Danny O.'" Still, Pfeifer said: "As much fun as he was,
he had a serious side to him, and that was taking care of his
guys. ... Some guys you wonder about, but Danny you never had
to wonder about. You knew he had your back." In recent years,
O'Callaghan, who had always adored children, had two of his own
with his wife of 11 years, Rhonda. Rhiannon Rose is 6, and Connor
Daniel is 1. The family lives in Smithtown. O'Callaghan is sorely
missed by his nieces and nephews, as well as his children, his
brother said. "Myself," he said, "I'm just comforted to know that
his nieces and nephews have a hyper-angel up there looking out
for them. Because that's Danny, a hyper guy." O'Callaghan, who
was promoted posthumously to captain, will be remembered at a
wake at the Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown on Thursday from
7 to 9:30 p.m., and on Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9:30 p.m.
There will be a memorial service at St. Patrick's Church, Smithtown,
on Saturday at 11 a.m. -- Indrani Sen (Newsday)
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